"Pain of Memory": New Education Kit and Training Program for Teachers in Ukraine

Stephen D. Smith, Executive Director of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, speaks at the "Shoah by Bullets" exhibition opening in Kyiv.

Victor Pinchuk, founder of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation—the organization that brought the "Shoah by Bullets" exhibition to Ukraine—speaks at the exhibition opening in Kyiv.

From left: John F. Tefft, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, and Mariella Cellitti Tefft; Anna Lenchovska, USC Shoah Foundation Institute Regional Consultant in Ukraine; and Oleksandr Voytenko, author of Pain of Memory.

Standing, from left: John F. Tefft, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, and Mariella Cellitti Tefft, meet with Pain of Memory trainees.

Stephen D. Smith, USC Shoah Foundation Institute Executive Director (left), and Oleksandr Voytenko, author of Pain of Memory.

Anna Lenchovska (left), USC Shoah Foundation Institute Regional Consultant in Ukraine, and Oleksandr Voytenko, author of Pain of Memory.

The Ukraine debut of the "Shoah by Bullets" exhibition was part of the official national commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy.

The "Shoah by Bullets" exhibition includes photographic evidence of mass graves, identified by Father Patrick Desbois and Yahad-In Unum.

The "Shoah by Bullets" exhibition is based on the work of Yahad-In Unum and its President, Father Patrick Desbois. Yahad-In Unum conducts research and documentation of mass shootings that took place in Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland.

The Ukraine debut of the "Shoah by Bullets" exhibition was part of the official national commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the Babi Yar tragedy.

The Pain of Memory education kit is designed to enhance the "Shoah by Bullets" exhibition. The kit is also intended for use as a stand-alone resource.

Oleksandr Voytenko (left), author of Pain of Memory, trains educators on the use of the kit.

Oleksandr Voytenko, author of Pain of Memory, is one of the leading Ukrainian educators on the subjects of human rights and tolerance.

Anna Lenchovska (left), USC Shoah Foundation Institute Regional Consultant in Ukraine, speaks with educators at the Pain of Memory training seminar.

Anna Lenchovska, USC Shoah Foundation Institute Regional Consultant in Ukraine.

Oleksandr Voytenko (left), author of Pain of Memory, trains educators on the use of the kit.

Attendees at the training seminar included teachers, methodology specialists, and student youth educators serving grades 9 through 11.

Attendees at the training seminar explored the "Shoah by Bullets" exhibition, which the Pain of Memory education kit is designed to enhance. The kit is also intended for use as a stand-alone resource.

Attendees at the training seminar included teachers, methodology specialists, and student youth educators serving grades 9 through 11.

On September 10, 2011, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute conducted a seminar at the Ukrainian House national center in Kyiv to train teachers on the use of Pain of Memory, a new multimedia kit designed for educators in Ukraine. Pain of Memory is a comprehensive kit designed to enhance the educational experience of the exhibition “Shoah by Bullets: Mass Shootings of Jews in Ukraine 1941-1944.” Presented by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in partnership with Mémorial de la Shoah, Yahad-In Unum, and the Ukrainian Embassies of Israel, France, Germany, and the United States, the exhibition is based on the work of Yahad-In Unum and its President, Father Patrick Desbois. Yahad-In Unum conducts research and documentation of mass shootings that took place in Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland.

The seminar was part of a program undertaken by the Institute in partnership with the Ukrainian Center of Holocaust Studies; the partners plan to conduct additional training seminars in each city in Ukraine where the exhibition will be shown. Teachers who attend seminars will learn from leading researchers and training specialists, and each attendee will help evaluate the kit by submitting a report on its use in his or her classroom. The training program is supported by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Embassy in Ukraine. more

Album posted on: September 13, 2011